The spirit of competition beckons us all to the Las Vegas Convention Center again this year, with thousands of players jumping into the fight hoping to call themselves an Evo champion. While only a select few will claim that title, the Evo experience offers more than just fantastic tournaments. Thanks to incredible friends and partners, Evo 2025 has more in store for its players than ever before.
Nestled in on the Northeast side of the floor, Riot’s 2XKO returns for its second Evo visit, offering brave players the chance to face off in a best of three or first to ten. Featuring more familiar faces than ever before, last year’s four character roster has expanded bringing even more variety to the fast-paced 2v2 tag action. The short line is made even more enjoyable by its proximity to the Showcase Stage, offering you the chance to enjoy excellent programming while you wait to unleash the might of your Yasuo/Braum combos or test out Vi in the newest iteration of the game.
Just a few aisles down, you can find the Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Spirits demo being offered by Arc System Works. Featuring innovative 4v4 team mechanics and beautiful Arc interpretations of your favorite Marvel characters, Tokon is shaping up to be a quick favorite. Grab a friend, learn the ins and outs of the new Assemble system, and step into the fray of this gorgeous new fighter. A 15 minute block is more than enough to start to understand the flow of the game, start linking Skills into your combos, learn to unlock team members as the game progresses, and experience each of the character’s Unique abilities.
If you’re itching for even more fights, Invincible VS is offering a fantastic taste of superhero action. Build a team of three from some of your favorite Invincible characters, including Battle Beast, Rex Splode, Thula, Atom Eve, Bulletproof, and Invincible himself. With snappy combos and strong assists, the game felt fast-paced and fun. Each character had a fitting toolkit, and the game was visually stunning. A love letter to a fantastic series, Invincible VS is one to look out for.
If 3D Arena fights are what you’re looking for, Sega has you covered with two offerings on the floor - Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. and Demon Slayer: Hinokami Chronicles 2. With R.E.V.O. offering you all of the beloved action of the franchise’s storied history, in addition to new features like CPU fights based on the pros you love and a World Stage mode to put you through a fantastic new solo experience, the future is looking bright for Virtua Fighter. Hinokami Chronicles 2 offers players an expansive story mode, covering legendary fights of the fan favorite anime, including the showdown in the Entertainment District. Its anime arena combat felt nostalgic and updated at the same time, offering a taste of familiar experience for folks comfortable with the genre while still keeping it fresh and exciting.
Need a place to cool down after all of that exciting competition? The folks over at White Claw have created a cozy living room set for you to try your hand at both board game and video game tournaments, as well as their new Zero Proof non-alcoholic beverage. Several tournaments are offered throughout the day, so stop in to see what’s coming up, try a taste, and enjoy the ambiance on offer. The Voodoo Ranger Arcade spans a humongous portion of the center of the venue, offering attendees the chance to experience everything from driving and rhythm games to Marvel and Typing of the Dead. Looking for some crane games or pinball to blow off steam? You’re covered. Need a little Taiko no Tatsujin to get the blood flowing? They’ve got that too. This year, the arcade is bigger than it has ever been, and there’s something for everybody.
Speaking of something for everybody, the Artist Alley at Evo 2025 is chock full of incredible merch. From FGC Kirbys to tourist posters of your favorite gaming locations, the incredible depth of offerings will astound you as you walk the aisles. In a similar vein, the Indie Game Dev section boasts a wide selection of up and coming fighters, from the 2.5D action of Umbral Core, to FrostFire: Battle Frenzy proudly presenting “the dumbest fighters” exploring their toxic relationships in hand drawn animation. Do yourself a favor and check out the indie offerings this year!
With swaths of BYOC stations, the Stick and Art Museum, the History of Evo exhibit, seven different stages, and more opportunities to play games than you can shake a fight stick at, this year’s Evo offers a floor experience like no other. Whether you’re trying to win your free Chipotle by getting out of pools or showing off your Ronaldo in some friendly FATAL FURY: City of Wolves at the SNK booth, there’s something for each member of our community here at the Las Vegas Convention Center this weekend.
